Clifford Robinson, an 18-year NBA veteran, has died, the University of Connecticut men's basketball program confirmed Saturday. He was 53. The cause of death was not immediately known, but Robinson had dealt with health issues in recent years, suffering a stroke in 2017 and having a tumor removed from his jaw in 2018.
Robinson starred at UConn and helped bring them to prominence in the days before they became a basketball powerhouse. The Huskies won the National Invitation Tournament in 1988 with Robinson. UConn retired Robinson's jersey in 2007. "He was our first great player," former UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said, adding that Robinson "was a good man, had a great career, and was instrumental in a lot of the great things that happened at UConn."
Picked in the second round of the 1989 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Robinson enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the NBA. He spent eight seasons in Portland, and suited up for the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, and the then-New Jersey Nets. His brightest years, though, came with the Blazers — in 1993 he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award and followed that up with an All-Star appearance in 1994.
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